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For Immediate Release
Sept. 23, 2010
Eureka College Hall of Fame Class to be Introduced Friday
EUREKA, Ill. – Football will be the theme of the 2010 Eureka College Athletics Hall of Fame class, as three former players and the program’s most recent national playoffs qualifier will enter the EC Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Becker Auditorium inside the Donald B. Cerf Center on the campus of Eureka College, Friday night at 6:30 p.m. Damon Gladney (class of 1998), Raymon Houghton (class of 1939), Pete Logan (class of 1995) and the 1994 football team make up the 2010 class.
Damon Gladney will be inducted into the EC Hall of Fame on Friday. The only four-year teammate of current Eureka head coach Kurt Barth from 1994 through 1997, Gladney played as a member of the 1995 football team that was inducted into the Eureka College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008 and the 1994 team that will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame Friday night. He led the Eureka defense during a four-year period in which the Red Devils won 27 games and made an appearance in the NAIA Division II national playoffs. Gladney was a four-time All-Illini-Badger Football Conference selection at linebacker, including three First Team choices from 1995 through 1997.
A four-year member of the Eureka football team from 1935-38, Raymon Houghton will enter the Hall of Fame on Friday. The captain of the 1938 Red Devils, Houghton played as a center and was chosen as an All-Little Nineteen Conference selection. The Georgetown, Ill. native played three seasons for Eureka Hall of Fame coach Ralph McKinzie and was once described by a local media member as “one of the most ablest and scrappiest players ever to wear the maroon and gold”.
Upon his graduation, Houghton served one term on the Eureka College Board of Trustees and as President of the Eureka College Alumni Association while receiving Eureka’s Alumni Award of Merit in 1989. Before his retirement, he and his wife Arcelia owned and operated Houghton Funeral Home in Georgetown, Ill. Houghton passed away in 1997 and will be represented by his son, Ray, during Friday’s ceremony.
Pete Logan will enter the Hall of Fame after a decorated four-year career as a defensive back from 1990-93. He was a two-time All-Illini-Badger Football Conference selection in a Eureka secondary that was regularly ranked among the nation’s best. He was a four-year starter and served as team captain during his senior campaign in 1993, finishing his career with 12 interceptions and more than 300 tackles. He was a sophomore on the 1991 team that recorded a perfect 10-0 regular season record and was inducted into the EC Hall of Fame in 1999.
Following the completion of his eligibility, Logan immediately became part of the Eureka coaching staff in 1994, serving in that capacity through 1999. Logan also served as an assistant coach on the 1995 team that is in the EC Hall of Fame and the 1994 team that will be inducted on Friday. Logan is currently employed by the city of Eureka
The 1994 Eureka football team finished the season with an 8-3 record, including an 8-2 regular season mark that still holds up as the third-best record in the 107-year history of the program. Quarterback Mike Simpson and defensive lineman Joe Duczak were named NAIA All-Americans that season, while Simpson also collected the Illini-Badger Football Conference Player of the Year award. Head coach John Tully, who was in the final year of a five-year run as coach in which he recorded a 31-21 record, was chosen as the IBFC Coach of the Year. Current EC head coach Kurt Barth, then a freshman, was chosen as the IBFC Wide Receiver of the Year.
The Red Devils, who spent a large portion of the season ranked in the NAIA Division II national polls in 1994, recorded two of the more memorable victories of the campaign on their home turf. Facing a nationally-ranked Concordia (Wis.) team at McKinzie Field on Oct. 1, 1994, Eureka pulled out a 34-27 victory, its fifth straight win to open the season. The Red Devils romped to a 36-8 win over MacMurray in the regular season finale seven weeks later on Nov. 12, 1994, clinching the program’s second national playoff berth in four seasons. The season ultimately came to an end at the hands of a 41-14 loss to Tiffin (Ohio) in the first round of the NAIA Division II playoffs, but not before Eureka finished the season with 414 points, a school record that still stands today.
“Eureka College football and its storied tradition are represented very well by our 2010 Hall of Fame class,” Director of Athletics Paul Bryant said. “These three individuals and the 1994 team deserve this honor and I am proud to welcome each and every one of them to our Hall of Fame.”
The group will be recognized during halftime of Saturday’s homecoming football game against UMAC foe Minnesota-Morris, scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m. The day will also include Eureka’s annual homecoming parade along College Avenue beginning at 10 a.m. The Old Elm Trophy, presented to the most outstanding student organization during homecoming week, will be awarded following the game during the Fifth Quarter Barbeque at McKinzie Field. The Breakfast Club, a 1980’s cover band, will perform following the game.
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For More Information Contact:
Bryan Moore
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